Crisis contained, says Cypriot president

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NICOSIA, Cyprus, March 29 (UPI) -- Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades said Friday that Cyprus would remain in the eurozone but criticized the bailout deal that made that possible.

Anastasiades, speaking in Nicosia, said the bailout deal from Brussels made "unprecedented demands that forced Cyprus to become an experiment."

"We have averted the risk of bankruptcy. The situation, despite the tragedy of it all, is contained," he said.

The BBC reported that restrictions on bank withdrawals in Cyprus could remain in effect for a month, although there are no longer lines of anxious depositors seeking withdrawals from the country's banks.

Cyprus imposed restrictions on how much money could be taken from bank accounts and how much could leave the country to prevent a run on banks as depositors tried to avoid a tax imposed on larger bank accounts or feared the banks would fail.

Cyprus is the fifth eurozone country to receive a bailout, joining Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain.